1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for crimping fittings to hose assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional refrigeration systems circulate a refrigerant through a closed cooling system. In this circulation process, the refrigerant changes states between a fluid and a gas. Freon has been used as a refrigerant. Freon consists of dichlorofluorocarbons, such as dichlorodifluoromethane. Conventional freon is designated under ANSI Code B79.1-1968 as Freon 12, R-12 or Genetron 12. It has been found that the release of halogen refrigerants into the atmosphere deleteriously affects the ozone layer which surrounds and protects the earth from ultraviolet solar radiation.
The Environmental Protection Agency mandated the use of a refrigerant described as R-134a systems or HCF 134 systems to minimize ozone depletion. The R-134 refrigerant system replaces the dichloride in the refrigerant with hydrogen for minimizing the release of halogens into the atmosphere. Although the R-134 refrigerant is less harmful than freon to the environment, the EPA still recommends that the R-134 refrigerant should not be released to the atmosphere. The R-134 refrigerant is typically recycled by a closed system which is defined as a "refrigerant recycling machine".
Conventional fittings, adapters or couplers have been used for connecting and disconnecting refrigerant recycling machines to the tubular high or low-sides of air conditioning systems. Conventional hoses, couplers and ports have been used with R-12 refrigerant systems. Recently, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Automotive manufacturers mandated the retrofitting of all the hoses and fittings from the R-12 standards to R-134a standards. This requires performing hose make-up or repair on hose assemblies for R-134a systems.
Crimping devices have been used to crimp a fitting onto a hose. U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,171 describes a hand held crimping tool including a pair of crimping dies. Each die has a concave face and ribs formed on the concave face. One die is movable along a track in the device which forms a path toward the other die. A screw urges the second die along the track to engage the first die and perform the crimping operation. The screw may be turned by a wrench. This disclosure has the shortcoming of slowly moving the dies toward one another and not being readily adjustable for different size fittings.
There is a considerable need for a device for expeditiously converting various hoses and fittings of a R-12 refrigeration system to a R-134a refrigeration system. The present invention provides a sealing and crimp locking device for retrofitting refrigeration systems and preventing leakage of refrigerant from the cooling system.